AlMrhigan Batly
Seventy-First Year
r-. EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVEksITY OF MICHIGAN
Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
th will Prevail" STUDENT PUBLICAnONs BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241
orials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of istaff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
OCTOBER 16, 1960
NIGHT EDITOR: PHILIP SHERMAN
Ideas? We're Too Busy
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the
first essay in a series of er
sonal evaluations of the, Univer- xu
sity's direction and needs. Ar-
ticles written for this symposium
by thoughtful members of the
community will appear bi-week-s
By MARSTON BATES
Professor of Zoology
L^TtLY I have taken up the "
slogan, "Education is the 3
student's problem, not mine."
Friends say I am just rational-
izing my indolence. They are
probably right, but I would y ;~:
defend the importance of being
lazy. We tend to confuse activ-
ity with accomplishment, and
progress (whatever that means)
depends on finding easy ways
of doing things - depends on
the cultivation of indolence.
A few years ago, before I
had actually tried teaching, I
frequently remarked that our
great universities tended to for-
get that one of their functions
was to teach. Friends have
kidded me about that, now. But
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N THE MIDST of the chaos which makes up the brilliant climax of
I'm All Right, Jack" there is-a shot of Malcolm Muggeridge, the
dean of British satire, looking like the great Punch, himself. I doubt
that this is accidental in a film as beautifully planned as this Britisi
import is and it thoroughly deserves to pat itself on the back in this
manner, for this is an inspired satire. Nay, too inspired. For though
its inspiration, spurred on by a real gripe, raises it in quality above the
.slickest of Hollywood satires (e.g. "The Apartmenit"), it lacks in
quantity what the least of these have: it just isn't funny enough to
carry through its heavily contrived plot; there aren't enough jokes.
Everything about the film is magnificently comic, both the plot and
Satire Has
n
;ens
Grand Valley College:
Effective Publie Concern
DILIGENT and dedicated group of Grand
Rapids area citizens are well on their way
realizing an old dream - a much-needed
r-year liberal arts college for the area.
he last legislative session passed a bill
ating the Grand Valley College, and Gover-
G. Mennen Williams recently named a
,rd of Control. When the board has raised
:illion and obtained a site for the college,
till be chartered and begin to receive state
ds for- operating. Michigan's first indepen-
t state-supported institution to be char-
d in many years is expected to open its
rs to students in the fall of 1963,
'omorrow the Board of Control will meet
the first time, to discuss three immediate
ctives: fund-raising, prospective sites for
college, and curriculum plans.
RAND Rapids businessman L. William Seid-
man, board chairman and one of the
ege project's prime movers, is optimistic
ut getting the money together quickly -
n in an area known for the judicia'l
cence of its residents regarding civic efforts
q have to pay for. A fourth of the million
lready pledged and a fund drive is planned
the eight counties surrounding Kent County
lch the college will serve.
oting the promising response from con-
utors to date, Seidman comments, "I sup-
e they're coming to realize that their kids
be going to school here."
?SSIBLE locations suggested for the Grand
Valley College range from the urban re-
al section of downtown Grand Rapids to
shores of Lake Michigan, thirty miles west.
area to be served by the college includes
it, Ottawa, Muskegon, Barry, Ionia, Mon-
n, Newaygo and Allegan counties in western
higan. According to the Russell Report
:itted to the state legislature, this area
>resently served by Muskegon Community
lege, Hope College in Holland and three
Lnd Rapids institutions - two small four-
r colleges affiliated with religious sects and
nd Rapids Junior College.
eidman has enlisted the aid of campus
ning organizations to help determine a
college with growth ability - in the next
decade the new college's enrollment should
reach 10,000. City and county officers will
also have an opportunity to express their
views on a site.
T WOULD seem that the immediate Grand
Rapids area, from which the college can
expect to draw most of its students (who will
be commuters, at least at first), should pro-
vide the most appropriate location for the
new school. Aman Park, a city-owned tract of
land just outside the city limits on the west,
would semi-detach the institution from the
urban district of Grand Rapids; it has been
seriously proposed as a sitefor the school.
The downtown area now finds room for
Grand Rapids Junior College, currently crowded
in two oldish buildings in the heart of the
business district. Business in this commercial
area might well be expanded by an influx
of day students, while problems that might
accompany a residential student population
would be deferred indefinitely if not altogether
avoided.
Further, establishing the college in or near
Grand Rapids would provide a solid economic
rationale for soliciting fund aid from citizens.
The rapidly growing industrial complex of
Grand Rapids can benefit materially from a
four-year institution with research facilities.
It would attract industry to the area it
occupies; it will enable the increasing numbers
of college-age residents to advance their
education,
'JHE GRAND Rapids area has long been
overcrowding its schools and pushing
educational administrators to hasty growth
accomodations. Long-range planning for higher
educational facilities has finally come from
the citizens themselves - and they have con-
vinced both educators and legislators by their
effectively directed concern with a community
problem.
This is the kind of commitment necessary
on the part of the general public, if American
education is to meet the needs of its younger
generations in the coming decades.
-JEAN SPENCER
Editorial Director
the two statements don't seer
irreconcilable - though I ho]
no brief for consistency.
We might distinguish betwee
education and training, betwee
the transmission of ideas an
the learning of skills. Skills ca
be taught, certainly; thoug
it is not easy to teach peopl
who don't want to learn.j
teacher, in fact, can be ex
tremely helpful in learning
skill - the "how to do it" book
simply show that hope is sti
springing eternally and ther
are no statistics on how man
of these books have landed, wit
the empty whiskey bottles, i
the trash can.
, , ,
IDEAS, TO BE sure, ca-n als,
be taught -but this is one o
the things that worries me, It
dismaying to see a roomful c
students taking down notes o
things you say. This, to be sur
is no proof that they will believ
them. But they are expecte
to remember them long enough
at any rate, for the purpose
of the final exam; and the
often look as though they wer
taking you seriously.
Now education and training
in the sense used here, hav
many similarities. But then
are also differences. Learnin
an inappropriate skill,
learning a skill badly, is n
the same thling as learning
wrong idea. Learning ideas
easily translated into "indoc
trination" and this is obviousl
bad (unless we happen to agr
with the ideas). Yet the moder
American university is deep:
involved with both educatio
and training and frequent
seems to confuse the two.
Take all of this fuss abou
"distribution," The science d
partments, basically, are tryin
$ to train possible future scien
tists. They are trying to teac
skills and to impart definit
and specific information. Th
Music School, comparably,i
trying to train future musician
The Art Department (in th
School of Architecture) is try
ing, among other thing, to teac
future painters. But for dis
tribution we have Historyc
E Art and Music Appreciation.
, , ,
THE PROBLEM becomes the
of untangling the trainingc
the specialist from the educa
tion of the citizen. The citize
surely had ought to know some
thing about art, ilteratur(
music, science, history and th
like. But does he need to b
ld
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h
Le
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.A.
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ll
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of
"trained" in all of these things?
The scientists seem to think
that this future citizen should
get some training if he is to
have any understanding. May-
be they are right, but I am
rather glad that the Music
School doesn't insist that all
freshmen take up the oboe,
trumpet or violin . . . though,
now that I think of it, I suspect
the fact that I used to play,
the French horn helps me now
in listening to an orchestra.'
But is there any difference
between the role of the teacher
in education and in training.
I think there is: that the stu-
dent can be trained, but that
he has to educate himself.
My rebellion against the role
of teaching in education started
with all of this talk about
"teaching students to think,."
How on earth can you teach
anyone to think? How, in the
first place, can you be sure you
know how to think yourself?
There is an, arrogance here
that bothers me; or maybe I
spend more time being muddled
than most people.
* , ,
MY SOLUTION WAS to de-
cide that I, as a professor,
constituted one of the facilities
available within the university
for students to use. There are
libraries full of books, faculties
full of professors, rooms full
of all sorts of equipment. But
Individual students may heed
to use these in different ways,
according to their particular
desires, interests and abilities.
Yet I can't really shrug off
responsibility. I at least have
to be available; and I should
be easily available, Education
is a joint problem, involving
both faculty and students. Yet
how easily we get jockeyed into
antagonistic positions. There is
the temptation to work out.
trick exam questions that will
trip up the unwary; the temp-
tation to show the students
that this isn't a "snap" course,
that there is work here and
that life is grim and serious.
And the students - maybe they
started it, fighting for grades,
trying to find the easy way out,
trying to avoid, rather than
look for, education. The result
is dismal.
* * *
AND THEN THERE is that
bugaboo, the Administration:
trying to be a stern parer" to
all of the harum-scarum stu-
dents; trying to make some
sense of organization among
the disordered faculty; worry-
ing with a curious hypersen-
sitivity about the public image
of the institution. It is no
wonder that education gets lest
in a fog of mutual suspicion.
This without mentioning librar-
ians busy keeping books from
being stolen; plant department
trying to keep the lawn neat;
research institutes abosrbed in
drawing up projects and writ-
ing reports; campus cops over-
whelmed with being important.
Ideas? We're too busy.
Yet I still think education is
the student's problem. The rest
of us have problems, too: but
these turn on the proviion of
facilities for the educational
process. We ought at least try
to handicap the student as
little as possible. We get so
preoccupied with organization
and system that we sometimes
forget about this. No matter
what we do, there will be handi-
cays, so we needn't worry about
things being too easy. Educa-
tion? Sure it's the students
problem; but it's a problem for
all of the rest of us too. And
difficult enough to keep us all
thinking-- if we can find
the time.
individual scenes -are hilariously
wrought. You know you should be
laughing, you want to laugh, but
nobody has said anything funny.
BETWEEN the truly funny
scenes there is iuch to admire..
The opening scene sets the tone
of humor and the methodology of
attack. We are told the ancient
gentleman we see before us is one
of the great business moguls of
the old school but that, alas, this
is the last we shall see of/him for
It is then end of the war and a
newer, younger generation is tak-
ing over. And ideed Edwardian
England, after cursiiig the weath-
er, manages to rise from its chair
and pass out of the room and the
movie, leaving us in the company
of the most lethal villains, im-
moral politicos and plain ignor-'
amuses which make up this new,
eager generation.
It is also a new generation of
comic actors which portrays them.
Peter Sellers plays the Union
Shop-Steward who is as incapable
of handling his home life as the
socialist idealism he worships. His
character is complete and com-
pletely funny, His stubborn, silly
walk and his side-long, wide-eyed
way of looking at everything give
away a man who has placed him-
self on top of the world without
knowing what's going on inside.
Terry-Thomas, his antagonist,
is a comic actor of the first order.
In his leering, peering, twisting,
itching bravado is inspiration for
a dozen films. Denis Price plays
the gentleman who pits these two
against each other. He is the suave
successor to Edwardlan England,
and his blithe corruption suggests
knowledge of evils and its ways as
that gentleman never guessed at.
--Robert Kraus
DAILY
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
official publication of The Univer-
sity of Michigan for which The
Michigan Daily assumes no editorial
responsibility. Notices should be
sent in TYPE WRITTEN form to
Room 3519 Administration Building,
before Z p.m. two days preceding
publication.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16
General Notices
Graduate Students in Linguistics: The
preliminiary examinations in Linguis-
ties for the fall semester will be given
on Fri. and Sat., Nov. 11 and 12. Stu-
dents intending to take these examina-
tions must notify Prof. Chavarria-Agui-
lar,. 1625 Haven Hall, in writing, not
later than Oct. 26.
President and Mrs. Hatcher will hold
open house for students at their home
Wed., Oct. 19 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
University Players PlaybiUl season, tick
ets will be on sale at the box office,
jLydia Mendelssohn Theatre, starting
Monday at 10:00 a.m. Season tickets, at
$6,00 and 4.00, include: "The Firstborn"
by Christopher Fry, "The Frogs" by
Aristophanes, a laboratory opera (to
be announced), Sean O'Casey's "Purple
Dust," the premiere performance of
an original play, a major opera (to
be announced), Moliere's "School for
Husbands," and Friedrich Duerren-
matt's "The Visit."
Single tickets for "The Firstborn"
and "The Frogs" will go on sale Tues-
day morning at 10:00. Box office hour,
10:00a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tues-
day; open until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday
through Saturday (performances of
"The Firstborn")~.
Tickets for Individual Performances
of the 1960-61 Platform Attractions will
go on sale tomorrow (Monday) morn-
ing at the box office inm HillAud. The
(Continued on Page 8)
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LETTERS:
University Opportunity
Demands Appreciation
MAX LERNERF' T
Face To Face
,77 1-77
WOULD be a great loss to the campaign
Sen. Kennedy's willingness to take part
fifth TV debate were not matched by an
l willingness on Nixon's part. The, Repub-
i candidate may plead that his speaking
a are made for the duration and cannot
disarranged, but surely there is a prior".
Ic stake in having the extra meeting.
ot that there is any magic in the number
any more than in the number four. The
ic stake lies in not letting the last two
a half weeks of the campaign remain
ty of this sort of confrontation. Those
the weeks of highest tension, when last-
ate charges, arguments, and even v his-
ng campaigns of innuendo and political
ssination are likely to be the order of the
would be healthy to have a final confront-
of the candidates during that spell, with
. of them getting a chance to have his say,
before a local group where his words might
ctly to all the people, in the sight of his
ight not reach the nation as a whole, but
ence, his conscience and his opponent.
1. NIXON is on record as believing that
democracy depends for its functioning on
ence, reason, and truth. Why his hesitation
far in accepting the challenge?
aere are several clues. One is that Nixon
ot happy on TV, tending to lose rather
i gain by each appearance, while Kennedy
s to gain. Every such encounter in an
Azing ordeal for Nixon, while Kennedy -
ver tense - seems to thrive on them.
ide from this fact there is another. The
lit of press power in America is Republican.
Democrats can of course buy TV time.
tc cost is often prohibitive and it is usually
iunted by the audiences as too partisan
purposive. In any race to saturate the
aves at commercial rates the Democrats
d be beaten - and have been historically.
ce one can understand why the Nixon'
s have from the start been reluctant
t these confrontations which pare away
h. of the Democratic disadvantage,
I 4r S.c .ganUDailj
Editorial Staff
THOMAS AYDEN A Erllt Uor
BUT WHAT fair observer could doubt that
America as a nation is better off if there
is a greater equality of access to the people
on the part of both major candidates? The
nub of the matter is equal access. Since the
broadcasting chains are willing to. run the
debates as a public service, and the people
are anxious to watch and listen, the burden
of refusal will be a heavy one for whichever
candidate chickens out.
There are hints that if Nixon is elected this
time, he may not submit to the debate ordeal
in 1984. The reasoning seems to be that while
it is not below the dignity of two candidates
to stage a debate, it would be below an in-
cumbent President's dignity even if he were
one of the candidates. This is .a curious mis-
ponception of where the dignity of the Presi-
dential office rests.
The new communication arts and technology
have made it possible, for the first time in
history, for a mass democracy to watch its
candidates as they in turn face their total
constituency and each other. This is demo-
cracy by confrontation. Whoever is afraid to
let the people see, to let them hear, to let
them know, and to let them choose is fearful
of the democratic enterprise itself.
THERE IS much, of course, that can be
improved in the way this has been
managed in the early debates. I would strongly
back up Walter Lippmann's suggestion that
a panel of questioners is not the best solution.
Over the years it can be subject to pressures
and can become corruptible. In any event the
candidates are grown men, and they can
themselves ask the questions, and follow up
the answers with counter-answers. Each could
have the right to put one or more questions
in each of a number of agreed categories.
Morever, the debate' should not switch wildly
from foreign policy to health plans to farm
subsidies, merely because that is how a sequence
of panelists plays it. Let the candidates ex-
plore each theme in depth until their grasp
of the subject and their capacity to cut deep
into it have been thoroughly shown. Then
flet them move on, allowing themselves plenty
of time.
AMERICANS have long wrestled with the
question of how democratic choice can
function well in a society of unequal wealth
at
of
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he
s
To the Editor:
rTHE PURPOSE of a university is
to provide its students with the
greatest opportunities for educa-
tion in all fields of human en-
deavor. Perhaps one of the most
important of these fields is that
of politics, and the most important
aspect of this field is the coining
presidential election.
It is our opinion that the Uni-
versity administration deserves
special commendation for its ex-
tension of women's per to allow
them to hear the presidential can-
didate, Senator Kennedy, on
Thursday night. This fits in well
with the University's tradition of
providing such opportunities to
the students.
The students of the University,
we hope, will benefit from the op-
portunities provided. However, in
order to do so, they must develop.
a mature outlook and approach
the programs offered with an ap.
preciation of their value.
-Man
fair dealing and grounds for li-
cense revocation,"
Ston Bates
_ _ . _ _ . - - - a
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"Well, Back to the Old Humdrum Routine"
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UNFORTUNATELY, some of the
students present in front of the
Union Thursday night had not
yet developed this outlook. We are
appalled by this lack of develop-
ment which was indicated by the
presence of Nixon signs, booing
and calls of "We Want Nixon" in
the area where we were standing.
In this case these acts were un-
desirable and showed a lack of
common courtesy and a certain
amount of ignorance.
We would find this situation
equally intolerable if the speaker
had been Vice-President Nixon.
It is of course true that the lack
of decorum was characteristic of.
a small but vociferous group of
Nixon supporters in the audience.
If, as this group stated so in-
sistently, they want to invite Vice-'
President Nixon to the campus to;
speak, fine l We hope that he will
not receive similar treatment.
-Robert Kaplan, 162E,
-Wilfred L. McGuire, '61
-Lee Wetherhorn, '62
Rule 9. .
To the Editor:
N THE Wednesday issue of The
Daily, Michael Harrah's article
on the controversial "Rule 9" of
the Michigan Corporation and
Securities Commission neglected to
explain what this administrative
ruling actually said. He was quick
to state the position of Mr. WiI-
liam Leuders and the .Michigan
Real Estate Board..
But what he forgot to include
THE RULE does not usurp an
individual property owner's rights
in any manner, shape or form. A
property owner may still sell to
whomever he wishes and for what-
ever price he wishes. A property
owner is not forced to let any
person enter his home for the
purpose of inspection, does he not
wish to.
What does "Rule 9" do? It
makes the licensed real estate
broker. and salesman in the state
of Michigan more of a public
servant. It outlaws the practices
of property owners associations
which attempt to regulate an in-
dividual's rights to buy property
where he chooses. The property
owner still has control over the
real estate people to act in his
behalf according-to his wishes.
Lawrence Gubow, Michigan Cor-
porations and Securities Com-
missioner, is a man to be highly
praised for striking out against
the unjust practices of a small
minority of society. The University
of Michigan be be proud that an
alumnus of both their undergrad-
uate and law schools has made
a significant contribution to the
cause of a better society.
-Leroy Helman, '64
Anonymity
To the Editor:
TODAY, while reading The Daily,
I noticed two letters to the
editor signed "name withheld by
request." I have always admired
The Daily for printing almost any
letter sent to it, but I think it
may still go one step further and
require of each writer that his
name be printed with his letter.
Freedom of expression is a won-
derfil thing but in exchange for
this right, a person should be held
accountable for what he says. If
a person does not believe in what
he says, he should not say it. But
Jif he does believe in it, he should
stand by it and try as best he can
to defend it against criticism.
* * *
ADMITTEDLY, there are in-
stances where it is practically im-
possible to express certain opin-
ions without incurring severe pen-
alties or. ostracism. I refer, for
example, to the situation in Amer-
ica only about six years ago,
However, these instances are rath-
er rare and even rarer on a uni-
versity campus.
I am not about to argue in this
, k-)7 LNI I N\\
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